Madame Triangle (episode)
Madame Triangle is the tenth episode of ShapeTales. This is loosely based on the French novel "Madame Bovary". Plot The show opens up with Jimmy alone with Alvin driving a vehicle in the background. When Alvin drives up, he says that it's his new "Soo-Vee Action Jeep", a thing that Alvin has been wanting for a long time. He also says that he needs the "Soo-Vee Action Camper." Wondering how much stuff that Alvin needs to be happy, Jimmy asks for a story based on Alvin's desires for new stuff. Hearing Jimmy's request, the French Rectangles come by and tell the story of "Madame Triangle." In the story, Madame Triangle is a very sad lady because she is ungrateful for all the things she owns. Everyday, her butlers (Jimmy and Alvin) come to her tree house to help her around the house. One day, after she cries over things that she doesn't own, Madame Triangle, Jimmy, and Alvin look out her window and see a new store being built. Then, three crooked salesmen (The Pyramids), come by and say that they represent a new store being built down the street, called the Stuff-Mart. They then begin to manipulate Madame Triangle (through song) that she will be very happy if she buys a lot of items that she doesn't need. Madame Triangle agrees to go shopping, much to Jimmy's dismay. On the way to the stuff mart, Madame Triangle and the rest of the gang notices a poor little girl (Gabby) celebrating her birthday with one piece of pie that her family could only afford. She then sings about being thankful for what she has. Madame Triangle begins to wonder what makes her happy despite being dirt poor, but forgets upon entering the Stuff-Mart. Once inside the giant store, she begins to buy a lot of useless products and has them shipped to her house. At the food court, Madame Triangle notices a little boy (Little Johnny) excited about a train set that he's always wanted, but his dad says that he can't afford it and asks if he'd like a ball instead. The boy says yes to the ball, and sings the same song the poor girl sang earlier. Wondering why the children who don't have a lot are happy and she is grumpy while she has a lot, Madame Triangle realizes that they have happy hearts and that buying a lot of useless things isn't making her any happier. She dismisses the Pyramids and heads on home. As the trio head on out, they notice that Madame Triangle's house is tipping over from the excessive amount of bought items. The gang get in shopping carts (except Alvin, who is in a carrying basket) and head over to the house to stop the remaining deliveries from flooding the house. As they head there, the back door begins to open all the items begin to pour out and land in the lake behind the house. Jimmy thinks that her house is alright, but right on cue, the sudden loss of weight causes the house to be flung across the town and crash-land upon impact. Later that evening, after the disaster, Madame Triangle is comforted by her butlers, the poor girl's family, and the little boy with his dad at the picnic table. They begin to sing the same song that the poor girl and the little boy sang earlier and Madame Triangle believes that everything will turn out alright in the end. Back on the countertop, Jimmy and Alvin are sad about the story, that they start crying. The French Rectangles appear again and, now in a bossy manner, remind them that they need to wrap up the episode as soon as possible. Then, they head over to Qwerty for the bible verse of the day. The Bible verse is Proverbs 15:27a: "He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house." Alvin decides that he will not get the camper for his jeep and will be happy for what he already owns as the show ends. Trivia *The kitchen sink being the last item is a visual gag on the term "Everything but the kitchen sink". *Toaster ovens are miniature ovens that work the same way as a regular stove-top one. *This episode was the first for several things: **The first appearance of Madame Triangle, as well as the first episode of her and Jimmy's relationship. **The first episode Gabby appears with other characters known as her parents. She first appeared in The Mater That Surfed Christmas with her (Grandpa) Alan Triangle. **The first episode Jeff Wahba and David Patrick O'Brien worked on. **The first episode to update the cold open by featuring Jimmy and Alvin speaking with more up-to-date voices. **The first episode to feature the 1998 logo and opening montage. *This episode was the last for several things: **The last episode Eddie Olsen worked on. He's been working on ShapeTales at Big World since Where's Circle When I'm A-Afraid?. **This was also the last episode where Phil Nawrocki was given an editor's credit, but only during the Her Hamburger song. *Phil Nawrocki read the interactive storybook version on King Alan and the Giantesses. *This is the second episode where Jimmy and Alvin don't receive a letter from a real kid who needs help. *Aside from the end, the continuity on Madame Triangle's hair when she's in the store is off. After Pyramid One tells them its time to shop, she her blonde hair. But when he suggests to her about dropping he stuff at her house, she has her regular hair. *The poster depicts the Green One-Eyed Monster with electric powers, which he never displayed in the episode he was in. *This episode continues the "End of Silliness" story arc started in the previous episode, in which the disastrous results of "The Song of the Pudu" saw Shapey Songs with Alvin cancelled until further notice, while management fielded other ideas for mid-show songs. *Towards the end of the episode, Jimmy and Alvin are seen crying without any tears in their eyes. *The Pyramids as salesmen is likely a reference to what Pyramid One was in the Entertain-o-matic segment. *The way Jimmy said "Whaddaya suppose that is?" is in the same manner Percy said in the first QBT Alvin episode. *Jerry Lewis, born in Newark, NJ, was a comedian and actor, known for his works such as 1963's "The Nutty Professor". He was known currently for hosting telethons supporting the Muscular Dystrophy Association. He passed away on August 20th, 2017. *The way Jean Claude narrates some parts in rhyme is a similar manner towards the Madeline series (a children's series about a little girl in France, and the narrator would rhyme in a dime). *Jeep is a car manufacturer. Goofs *The inside of Madame Triangle's mouth is missing while shopping through the aisles. *When Alvin drives, he is first seen without a mouth. *The shadows on the train set are out of place. *As the camera turns during Little Johnny and his dad singing, the flags and carts in the background were buzzing. The shadows were flickering as well. *When Madame Triangle moves while sitting, she often clips through the cushion. *After Madame Triangle gets off the cart, the rectangle driver glitches a bit. *Annie in one shot is shown with no mouth. *After most of the stuff falls out of the house, both Jimmy and Madame Triangle are smaller than how they were from the previous shot. *The air compressor clips through the wall when it flies out the door. Also in the same shot, one of the wood supports for the house glitches a bit. *When the house is flying, there is a black hole in the middle of the house's wood ground. *When Little Johnny and Annie are shown singing in the end, the plate is missing and then it reappears. They are at the end in one shot in the further away shot they are back in the middle of the table. *Still waters are shown. Category:ShapeTales